Nona Hendryx

Since her teens, Nona Hendryx has written and performed pop songs that span a range of genres. She attained stardom in the 1970s as a member of the soul trio Labelle, and then went on to build a solo career that included guest performances with a variety of rock and soul bands as well as solo recordings.

Hendryx has also had a distinguished career as a songwriter. She wrote many of Labelle's hit songs, and continued writing her own material after the group split up in 1976. In addition to pop songs, she has written for the theater. Also active in the business segment of the music industry, Hendryx is co-founder and director of RhythmBank Entertainment, an independent record label, music publishing, and film production company.

Hendryx was born on October 9, 1944, in Trenton, New Jersey, and by the time she was 18 she had joined the Del Capris, a "girl group" based in Philadelphia. Soon after, she joined the Ordettes, where she met Patricia Holt, who became known as Patti Labelle, and Cindy Birdsong, who later became a member of The Supremes. With Sara Dash, who had sung with the Del Capris, the new group called themselves the BlueBelles. Their first single was "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman," which they followed in 1963 with a bigger hit, "Down the Aisle." But the BlueBelles failed to sell as many records as their label had initially hoped, and in 1969 they were dropped. Now a trio after the 1967 departure of Birdsong, the group decided in 1970 to hire British television producer Vicki Wickham as their new manager.

With Nightbirds's success came star status for Labelle, and the group went on to record two subsequent albums, Phoenix and Chameleon, for which Hendryx wrote most of the songs. The material was becoming more experimental, however, and Patti Labelle felt that Hendryx's songs, though brilliant, were not right for the group. In 1976 Labelle disbanded. "It was heaven and hell," Hendryx told Advocate interviewer Carol Pope in 2001, describing her years with Labelle. "We were like sisters. We'd fight, love, and laugh. After 17 years, breaking up was like a divorce. [But] by separating, you get to see your strengths and limitations."